Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids

by Jordi Agustí, Mauricio Antón (Illustrator)

Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids takes us on a journey through 65 million years, from the aftermath of the extinction of the dinosaurs to the glacial climax of the Pleistocene epoch; from the rain forests of the Paleocene and the Eocene, with their lemur-like primates, to the harsh landscape of the Pleistocene Steppes, home to the woolly mammoth. It is also a journey through space, following the migrations of mammal species that evolved on other continents and eventually met to compete or coexist in Cenozoic Europe. Finally, it is a journey through the complexity of mammalian evolution, a review of the changes and adaptations that have allowed mammals to flourish and become the dominant land vertebrates on Earth.

With the benefit of recent advances in geological and geophysical techniques, Jordi Agust? and Mauricio Ant?n are able to trace the processes of mammalian evolution as never before; events that hitherto appeared synchronous or at least closely related can now be distinguished on a scale of hundreds or even dozens of thousands of years, revealing the dramatic importance of climactic changes both major and minor. Evolutionary developments are rendered in magnificent illustrations of the many extraordinary species that once inhabited Europe, detailing their osteology, functional anatomy, and inferred patterns of locomotion and behavior. Based on the latest research and field work, Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids transforms our understanding of how mammals evolved and changed the face of the planet.

Genres: Palaeontology, Nonfiction, Science, Animals, Evolution, Biology

313 pages, Hardcover

First published April 3, 2002

About the author

Jordi Agustí Ballester (Barcelona, 1954) es un paleontólogo español especializado en mamíferos cenozoicos y evolución humana.
Se doctoró en Ciencias Biológicas por la Universidad de Barcelona en 1981 bajo la dirección de Miquel Crusafont i Pairó con su tesis Roedores Miomorfos del Neógeno de Cataluña. De 1985 a 2005 fue director del Instituto de Paleontología Miquel Crusafont. Desde 2005 es profesor de investigación de la Institución Catalana de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados (ICREA) en la Universidad Rovira i Virgili, primero en el Área de Prehistoria y desde 2007 en el Instituto Catalán de Paleoecología Humana y Evolución Social.

En 1976, junto con Josep Gibert i Clols y Narciso Sánchez, descubrió el yacimiento de Venta Micena en la localidad de Orce (Granada), donde organizaron una campaña de excavación con Salvador Moyà-Solà y Joan Pons-Moyà. Allí se descubrió en 1982 el fragmento de cráneo siglado como VM-0, e inicialmente identificado como perteneciente al género Homo, el denominado hombre de Orce.1​ Sin embargo la adscripción del fósil a un humano no está clara: tras posteriores análisis, Agustí y Moyà-Solà publican en 1987 su posible pertenencia a un individuo juvenil del género Equus, lo que desatará una intensa controversia.2​

Sus trabajos de investigación se han centrado en el estudio de los mamíferos extintos, desde la doble vertiente evolutiva y paleoecológica, y ha dirigido diversos proyectos europeos así como campañas paleontológicas en el norte de África y Georgia.

Tiene publicados más de 250 trabajos en revistas científicas sobre fósiles de micromamíferos del Cenozoico europeo.

En 1999 ingresó en la Real Academia de Ciencias y Artes de Barcelona. En 2003 recibió la Medalla Narcís Monturiol al mérito científico y tecnológico de la Generalidad de Cataluña.

Reviews

[Ewa]

My first ever paleontology book I have read in English and untill now still one of my most favourite. Gives detailed and fascinating story of mammalian fauna changes in Europe since demise of dinosaurs to the latest ice age. With wonderful illustrations by one of the best paleoartists living Mauricio Anton. Each of them is a masterpiece and real feast for the eyes.

[Rosemary Krystofolski]

Spectacular Book about prehistoric mammals

Wonderful book for anyone interested in the extinct megafauna that evolved after the dinosaurs became extinct. This book gives detailed descriptions and sketches by a very talented artist, Mauricio Anton (in my opinion one of the best paleo artists in the world) about many fascinating extinct animals

[Chuck]

Splendid.

[Daniel Morgan]

I was deeply displeased by this book because it is, frankly, incomprehensible.

Problem 1: Zero Context. Given how important environmental factors are towards evolution, and given that the Cenozoic begins right after one of the Big 5 Extinctions, you’d think that a proper geological and paleoecological setting would be important. And yet, a measly 2 1/4 pages are devoted to this! We can’t just dive into the mammalian fauna of Europe without devoting far more explanation to the base environment; there is some explanation, but on my mind it is wholly insufficient.

Problem 2: No pictures. Now sure, Mauricio Anton is a fantastic illustrator and his drawings grace this book. However, given that mammals are primarily distinguished by dentition, why isn’t the book littered with dozens of mouth profiles? The author rattles off clades of multitubiclerates; wouldn’t it make sense to show us one of these? The sole evidence of vertebrate morphology is the fossils, which are deeply lacking.

I give this book 2 stars, because it is fascinating but useless. If you are already familiar enough to have a mental map of the paleogeography, to recall from memory the peculiar dentition and morphology of extinct clades, and to firmly imagine the environmental setting of these distant times, then you have no reason to read this book to begin with.

[Elentarri]

This book takes a look at what was going on with mammal evolution, and to a lesser degree climate, in Europe during the Cenozoic Age. There are numerous black & white sketches and a collection of colour plates. The writing is rather technical with an empahsis on fossil teeth and the differences in teeth between the various species/families of mammals. The run-on paragraphs about a vast quantity of mammals with names in italics (can't be helped since these animals don't have common names) also makes things somewhat tedious. The lack of maps does not help much either. In short, an interesting, but technical, overview of what was going on in Europe during the Age of Mammals, but something that would probably appeal more to a paleontologist or a dentist with an interest in prehistoric mammals.

If you want a more comprehensive and world-wide overview of the Age of Mammals, try reading
"End of the Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals by Ross D.E. MacPhee"

[ClareT]

This is an excellent book - but only if you are already familiar with geological ages and climate, as well as prehistoric mammals, and their species. This is not the book to start with if you are interested in evolution and how the fauna of Europe has changed. The claim on the back of the book that this is an accessible read is not true. Unfortunately I fall into the latter category.
The book though is interesting, the illustrations are excellent, and I did learn quite a lot. However, probably only about 10% of what I would have learnt if I had more background in the subject.
Therefore my 4 stars is more about the quality of the book, than my experience reading it - it will go back on my shelves until I have read more about mammals, and, in particular, their teeth!

[Miroslav]

konečne... kniha, ktorá sa zaoberá evolúciou cicavcov, ale len v Európe. Tak ako knižka "Horned armadillos and rafting monkeys" o Južnej Amerike, či "Evolving Eden" o Afrike, aj táto prechádza od počiatkov po vyhynutí dinosaurov a prechádza obdobiami, ktoré ovplyvňovali evolúciu, prinášali doby oteplenia a ochladenia, zmeny hladiny morí a migráciu druhov. Neuveriteľné, koľko sa toho už vie o evolúcii, o prepojeniach, súvislostiach a o druhovej rozmanitosti... Klasické encyklopedické knihy už jednoducho nestačia

[Brian Melchers]

I would caution a layperson because the book contains many words that my kindle could not recognize. I learned that so much of what we know about extinct animals comes from their teeth. There are lots of neat, truly fascinating things to find out. Possums are from a very old family of animals. The Mediterranean Sea once dried up most and re-flooded. A species of cat-bear once existed. Humans uniquely have caused many other species to go extinct. We have a big responsibility for keeping what species are left. There was once a giant baboon, about one meter tall. This book was like a crescendo or a good song. It slowly added more layers and became more interesting as I read it. There are beautiful pictures, and information about the global climate of the past. The chapters are nicely organized by epoch.